Obama, King Family, Celebs Observe March Anniversary

President: U.S. Has 'Unfinished Business' to Fulfill MLK's Dream

President Obama and First Lady Michelle, Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton wave to the crowd from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the "Let Freedom Ring" commemoration and call to action program on Wednesday, August 28.
Photo by Shevry Lassiter

Wade Henderson, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Barbara Arnwine, executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

Rev. Roslyn Brock, chairman of the NAACP

Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP

Maori Haka performance from Destiny Church, New Zealand

Berry Gordy

Bill Russell

Phillip Agnew of the Dream Defenders

Congresswoman Donna Edwards (Md.-4th District)

Congressman John Lewis (Ga.-5th District)

Oprah Winfrey

LeAnn Rimes

Congresswoman Marcia Fudge (D-OH-11th District) and Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League

Minyon Moore with Angela Bassett

Jamie Foxx

Rev. Al Sharpton

Julian Bond

Rev. Shirley Caesar Williams performing "How I Got Over"

Dick Gregory

Dexter King and his wife with Tyrese Gibson

Lynda Bird Johnson Robb

Caroline Kennedy

Forest Whittaker

Marvin, Carvin and Bebe Winans

Byron Cage performs

Oprah Winfrey greets Bernice King

Oprah Winfrey speaks

President Obama arrives with his wife Michelle and former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton

President Obama greets Oprah Winfrey

Former President Bill Clinton greets Congressman John Lewis

Identity4Pop performs "The Star Spangled Banner"

Former President Jimmy Carter speaks

Former President Bill Clinton speaks

Martin Luther King III

Identity4Pop performs "The Star Spangled Banner"

Heather Headley sings

Former President Jimmy Carter speaks

Former President Bill Clinton speaks

Martin Luther King III

President Obama and First Lady Michelle, Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton wave to the crowd from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the "Let Freedom Ring" commemoration and call to action program on Wednesday, August 28.

Edith Lee-Payne's memories of the March on Washington 50 years ago remain crystal clear.

Aug. 28, 1963 happened to be a special day — her birthday — and during summer break, she said during an interview at the Lincoln Memorial, she and her mother took a Greyhound bus from Detroit, Mich., to Washington, D.C.

"I came with my mother Dorothy," said Lee-Payne, 62. "We took a scenic cruise. Dr. King came to Detroit that June and asked us to join him. He talked about the problems in the South and my mother wanted to support him. We stayed with my aunt on Just Street. I was really excited, especially for a kid. I saw Dr. King for the second time and it was a pleasant day filled with warmth and hope."

Lee-Payne, a mother and grandmother, said there's no other place she's rather be than the Lincoln Memorial, especially during this jubilee celebration.

Photojournalist Rowland Scherman captured what became an iconic photograph of Lee-Payne as she and her mother stood just to the left of King as he addressed the more than 250,000 people gathered on the National Mall.

"There were 300,000 people here that day, and I stood beside her," Scherman said. "I was taking pictures of the crowd. I was 25 or 26 — I was a kid. It was my first job."

Scherman, 76, said Lee-Payne's expression and her beauty captured his attention and he snapped the picture. Now, he acknowledged, her face has come to represent the March on Washington.

Tens of thousands of people — representing a rainbow of colors, cultures and ethnicities — braved long lines, tight security, overcast skies, humidity and intermittent showers to listen to civil rights veterans, entertainers, union leaders and politicians honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the well-known and nameless members of a civil rights movement that transformed the racial and social landscape of this country.

"Entertainers, it's time for us to stand up," Foxx declared. "I was affected by Sandy Hook, I was affected by Trayvon Martin … what we need to do is young folks need to pull it up."

Foxx related how he met entertainer Harry Belafonte and at dinner, he asked him what he's willing to do [as it relates to the struggle]. Foxx said he encouraged his 19-year-old daughter to accompany him to dinner and both were moved to action by the discussion they had with Belafonte. Foxx called on Kanye West, Jay Z, Keri Hilson and other singers and entertainers to assume the civil rights mantle, saying that they needed to emulate Belafonte who was immersed in the civil rights movement, has never stopped being an activist and who "bailed Martin Luther King out of jail and took care of Coretta Scott King financially until she left this earth."